Aerobic exercise is a popular form of exercise that improves one's cardiovascular health by reducing blood pressure and providing other benefits to the human body. Aerobic exercise generally involves low intensity physical exertion over a long duration of time. Typically, the human body can adequately supply enough oxygen to meet the body's demands at the intensity levels involved with aerobic exercise. Popular forms of aerobic exercise include running, jogging, swimming, and cycling among others activities. In contrast, anaerobic exercise typically involves high intensity exercises over a short duration of time. Popular forms of anaerobic exercise include strength training and short distance running.
Many choose to perform aerobic exercises indoors, such as in a gym or their home. Often, a user uses an aerobic exercise machine to have an aerobic workout indoors. One such type of aerobic exercise machine is a treadmill, which is a machine that has a running deck attached to a support frame. The running deck can support the weight of a person using the machine. The running deck incorporates a tread belt that is driven by a motor. A user can run or walk in place on the tread belt by running or walking at the tread belt's speed. The speed and other operations of the treadmill are generally controlled through a control module that is also attached to the support frame and within a convenient reach of the user. The control module can include a display, buttons for increasing or decreasing a speed of the conveyor belt, controls for adjusting a tilt angle of the running deck, or other controls. Other popular exercise machines that allow a user to perform aerobic exercises indoors include elliptical machines, rowing machines, stepper machines, and stationary bikes to name a few.
One type of treadmill is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,632 issued to Jeff D. Socwell, which patent is incorporated herein by reference for all that it discloses. In this reference, a curved deck treadmill is disclosed as comprising a support frame comprising a first side and a second opposing side having a deck supportably disposed there between. In a preferred design, the deck comprises a first end, a second end, and an intermediate portion disposed between the first and second ends. The intermediate portion of the deck is preferably formed having a substantially arcuate configuration such that a significant portion of the intermediate portion may be operably disposed dimensionally lower in longitudinal relation to the first and second ends of the deck. Further, a roller assembly is provided preferably comprising a first and second roller. The first roller may be rotatably disposed contiguous the first end of the deck between the first side and the second side of the support frame. Correspondingly similar in construction and design, a second roller is preferably disposed contiguous the second end of the deck between the first and second sides of the support frame. In operation, an endless belt may be rotatably mounted in relation to the roller assembly and operatively disposed in relation to the deck, whereby providing a structurally supported arcuate shaped, movable surface on which a user may exercise.